14" Bandsaw?

[Jamie Hargrave]

Hi there everyone. I'm thinking about purchasing a bandsaw within the next little while and was wondering if anyone here had any experience with the general international 90-100? I'm trying to decide between it, the Cman 22401, or the 14" Rigid. I know that the Rigid is cast iron and the other two are welded steel, but I'm not sure which direction I should be leaning at this point. I've seen some feedback on the 22401 but none on the General International or the Rigid. Thanks for your replies in advance! By the way, I'm in Canada, so that narrows the field down substantially!

[Lance Norris]

The Ridgid is a little rough right out of the box. I have one and after some tuning and new tires it is reliable. For the money it is pretty good. Look to Ridgids forum for more comments. Mine had tracking problems, but Urethane tires fixed that problem. Will Grizzly ship to Canada? If so... I would recommend one of their bandsaws.

[Jamie Hargrave]

No, unfortunately Grizzly will not ship to Canada, at least not the last time I checked.

[Lou Morrissette]

I've had the Ridgid for about 5 years now and have been totally satisfied with it. Out of the box, the supplied blade was junk. I was introduced to Timberwolf blades and it has been a joy to use for my general shop use. I've since installed a Grizzly 6" riser and with a little patience have been able to do some fairly decent resawing with a 1/2" blade. It is a little underpowered but with a good blade and a little patience, it will get the job done.

Lou

[Vic Damone]

After reading an article about Hot Roding Your Bandsaw I learned that many 14" saws have alloy table trunions. The article describes how to beef up the trunions to reduce table flexing when sawing long or heavy pieces.

Whether this may be an issue for you or not, it was interesting.

Vic

[Kurt T. Kneller]

I believe the latest woodworking journal has a review of the latest 14" bandsaws.

[Andy Fox]

Looking at the sturdiness and ease of use of the guides, I'd have to rule out the Craftsman (which I owned before I returned it). Delta has easy to adjust lower guides if Delta is an option? I prefer guide blocks over rollers/bearings.

The General looks like a better and more user-friendly design than the Ridgid, but I haven't seen or cut with the guides of either. I wouldn't choose the Ridgid just because it's cast iron.

[Nancy Laird]

Look at the Steel City!!!!! It will beat the heck out of the Ridgid, Delta, and most others.

Nancy

[Curt Harms]

Look at the Steel City!!!!! It will beat the heck out of the Ridgid, Delta, and most others.

Nancy

I was killing time in Atlanta a few weeks ago, went to Redmond. They have Steel City band saws. I didn't pay much attention to their 14"er but they had a 16"er that was a beefy rascal.The price was in the high $800's I think and I'm not in the market, just bought a Rikon 10-325 deluxe I'm happy with. The Steel City 16" has a lot sturdier construction than the Rikon 10-325 deluxe.

HTH

Curt Harms

[Pat Germain]

So, what's the deelio with cast iron vs. welded steel box for band saws? Is it one of those preference issues which people can debate without end? Or, does one design clearly have advantages over the other?

A band saw will likely be my next tool purchase. I'm pretty pleased with my ShopFox jointer. I was planning to investigate a ShopFox band saw.

[Eddie Darby]

You could try these guys, since they have a store in Ottawa.

http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/homepage?&NTDESC=homepage2.htm

Preston Hardware carry Delta and Legere Industrial carry General.

[Eddie Darby]

Thought you might like to know the top rated Steel Frame bandsaw at 14" is this one.

http://www.rikontools.com/Products/Bandsaws/10-325.htm

It is sold through Woodcraft which will deliver it to Canada.
This page has info on shipping to Canada.

http://www.woodcraft.com/custserv.aspx#Canada

Here is the review:

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/upload/contents/335/NOV06PW_40-44_BAND%20SAWS.pdf

I would consider this if you want a saw that will perform at the top level right out of the box. I have a Delta 14" and by the time you add a riser block kit and upgrade the guides and other things, you've spent a lot more $$$ just to get it to cut at it's best. If I was upgrading then I would consider this route. My next saw though will probably be an 18" or bigger, and I'll keep the 14" for scrolling cuts.

P.S. If you live on the Quebec side, then you will save on taxes.

[Randy Klein]

Thought you might like to know the top rated Steel Frame bandsaw at 14" is this one.

http://www.rikontools.com/Products/Bandsaws/10-325.htm

This is the BS I have. I recommend it.